I work in the Caribbean, and commonly hear a viewpoint repeated by locals here that Peace Corps is a "front for the CIA." I have vociferously argued against these statements as a dangerous myth, which at the least inhibits the ability of Peace Corps volunteers in the area to be effective in their work and at worst, endangers the lives and safety of every PCV working in the field.

So now I want to ask all of you: has anybody ever seen any evidence at all that the CIA has infiltrated or used the Peace Corps anywhere in the world to gather intelligence or carry out their activities? Please email me. Thanks. JillGatwood@yahoo.com

The skills and connections gained in the Peace Corps are great assets in espionage. -Deep knowledge of foreign culture -Fluent or conversational in foregn language -PCV's generally dispatched to unstable third world nations. -PCV's tend to earn the trust of communities in these countries.

PCV's are probably approached by CIA recruiters more than, say automobile mechanics in Dayton, Ohio. But it is far from infiltration, I think.

By law, the Peace Corps cannot pass information to the intelligence gathering community. By law, members or former members of the intelligence gathering community cannot become Peace Corps Volunteers.

In addition, there are legal and administrative safeguards in place to prevent any member or former member of the intelligence gathering community from becoming a Volunteer in the US Peace Corps.

In the forty year history of the Peace Corps, there has never been a single documented case of a Volunteer who was a member of the intelligence gathering community before or during his service as a volunteer.

The strict separation -- both in fact and appearance -- between the Peace Corps and any intelligence agency has been a bedrock principle for every administration since 1961 to ensure the safety and security of volunteers.

It is the purpose of this section of PCOL to monitor that these laws are observed.

I have been researching the issue of PCVs being used by the CIA for some time. There is a lot of rumor and "fear" talk out there, but no one has come forward to say 'YES, the CIA approached me while I was a volunteer working in... " If someone has knowledge of, or themselves have had the experience, would you please let me know? Thanks. RPCV- Cameroon 74/75.

I think the Peace Corps has been very responsible on the issue of barring any US intelligence involvment with its program or volunteers.

In fact, I have told folks in countries in which I work (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Cuba) who are suspicious of the Peace Corps (because of the old Soviet propaganda line), that Peace Corps is the least likely US institution to serve as an intelligence cover. Other government agencies, business, missionaries, academics, journalists, even NGOs, can legally be used as cover.

The closest experience I had as a volunteer in Peru ('64-'66) follows. An employee of a USG agency in Cuzco frequently hosted parties and invited volunteers. One night he got seriously drunk and told people he worked for the CIA. The next day he was gone permanently.

Had he organized the parties because he liked volunteers or because we could inadvertently be exploited as sources of information about conditions in the countryside, popular attitudes,or people in or outside the government? Did the CIA station chief in Lima know he was holding these parties? Did the Peace Corps staff nationally or regionally?

All governments need and seek intelligence. Peace Corps volunteers probably have more insight into the reality of the countries in which they serve than most embassy staff and spooks. However, I think it is essential for the integrity and safety of the volunteers that these insights impact on the US more indirectly, when volunteers return home and bring their experience into the citizen dialogue that hopefully eventually shapes US foreign policy.

The need for total separation between PCVs and intelligence agencies has obviously become even greater in an era of extreme distrust of US motives and methods brought on by the disasterous insularity and arrogance of the Bush Administration.

Ideally, a Kerry Administration could seriously revisit the question of giving Peace Corps a legal status and governance that is somewhat distanced from the government, along the lines of European volunteer programs. At a minimum, perhaps the country directors should no longer be seen as part of the "Country Team" responsible to the US ambassador.

There may not be any overt use of the Peace Corps by the CIA, but in Pakistan in 1988 the war in Afghanistan was going strong and the CIA was crawling all over the place. The president of Pakistan and the US ambassador had just been killed in a suspicious plane crash and the country was facing uncertain elections. Yet I was told by a trust worthy source that my Peace Corps group was aggressively pushed into the country despite a dazed and reluctant Pakistan government. In my opinion, the Peace Corps in Pakistan was a nice facade while others did more clandestine activities. Putting the Peace Corps in Pakistan at that time gave the impression that the PC is at least disingenuous, probably a patsy, and perhaps in touch with the darker sides of US 'aid'. Looking back, I think I unwittingly came in contact with a number of US and foreign spies, and I put myself in compromising situations. I was quite angry that I was placed in such situation. Pakistan was growing dangerous. In fact, the program was closed down before the group finished its tour. In short, the Peace Corps may have its intentions, but the US government has no problem using the organization to attempt to affect public opinion and mask other less savory activities. At least that was the case in Pakistan in 1988, in my opinion. And now I hear the PC will again be used to attempt to improve a tattered US image, again in muslim countries. Look, the CIA no doubt sees the PC as a minor but potentially valuable tool in so far as the PC can polish the US image and gather a little information on the ground. To volunteers I say, choose carefully where you volunteer.

Just because there is no evidence that the CIA has infiltrated or used the Peace Corps anywhere in the world to gather intelligence or carry out their activities, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. The CIA, like any intelligence agency is hardly going to announce it! And it surely isn’t going to leave evidence of its activities lying around for people to see.

The claim made by a contributor below; namely, "that in the forty year history of the Peace Corps there has never been a single documented case of a Volunteer who was a member of the intelligence gathering community before or during his service as a volunteer” doesn't prove a thing.

It is the interests of any intelligence agency to see that not a single case of how it operates is documented. If it were to be confirmed or to become public knowledge that the CIA was involved in intelligence work then the credibility of the Peace Corps would be undermined - perhaps evem destroyed and the CIA would lose out. To protect their own interests these agencies are going to make dam sure their activities are hidden. This is the nature of the intelligence game.

Just because there is no evidence that the CIA has infiltrated or used the Peace Corps anywhere in the world to gather intelligence or carry out their activities, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. The CIA, like any intelligence agency is hardly going to announce it! And it surely isn’t going to leave evidence of its activities lying around for people to see.

The claim made by a contributor below; namely, "that in the forty year history of the Peace Corps there has never been a single documented case of a Volunteer who was a member of the intelligence gathering community before or during his service as a volunteer” doesn't prove a thing.

It is the interests of any intelligence agency to see that not a single case of how it operates is documented. If it were to be confirmed or to become public knowledge that the CIA was involved in intelligence work then the credibility of the Peace Corps would be undermined - perhaps even destroyed and the CIA would lose out. To protect their own interests these agencies are going to make dam sure their activities are hidden. This is the nature of the intelligence game.

Yeah yeah. To the populists and gossips we're the CIA, while to the elite we're Communists. You can't win for losing, and you can never stop tongues from wagging, people will believe whatever they want. Bottom line, demand proof before believing anything.

To be precise, the regulations to keep the distance between Peace Corps and intelligence agencies (of which the CIA is only one) are not absolute. Having looked into employment possibilities (after completing four years of graduate school, after having completed my Peace Corps service) I was told that intelligence agencies cannot hire or seek to hire former Peace Corps volunteers during the first 5 years after their PC service, except (the exception always being the important issue I would say) in extraordinary circumstances, in which case special approval must be obtained. It has been some time, so I cannot recall with 100% certainty, but I believe the approval comes from the executive branch - either the NSC and/or the White House. All in all, one must remember that PC and the various intelligence agencies (whether the CIA, the DIA, various military intelligence organizations, the NSA, etc.) are all part of the executive branch.

So, at the end of the day, if a former Peace Corps volunteer could be exceptionally helpful, they could be recruited into the CIA.

I don't know where the truth lies but I think we should have a serious and honest dialogue about what is available in the public record. To advance this discourse from another perspective I recommend visiting the URL: http://www.cia-on-campus.org/social/camelot.html

Here is brief excerpt from "Under the Cloak and Behind the Dagger," in North American Congress on Latin America, Latin America & Empire Report, July - August 1974, pp. 6-8:

The Peace Corps is a perfect structure for the CIA. It provides a point of contact with the working class which is so necessary for information gathering. And, because of the Peace Corps structure, the CIA does not have to control it in order to use it successfully. The Peace Corps entered Latin America as the "person-to-person" of the Alliance for Progress. Working out of the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, the first head of the Peace Corps in Chile was Nathaniel Davis, promoted to Ambassador by the time of the September 1973 coup. Under the skillful guidance of Davis, many of the youthful volunteers headed straight for the poblaciones which housed the poorest sectors of the Chilean working class and unemployed. Fresh out of Swarthmore, Bennington and Berkeley, the volunteers invaded the poblaciones, lived with the people and came to know them -- politically and socially. They worked with them, observed their customs, their way of life, their traditions. And then they drew up work reports describing their experiences.

It was not necessary to have many agents in the Peace Corps -- just in the right places and with access to all the information which was generated. Unknowingly, thousands of U.S. youths, most thinking that they were helping the Chileans, were instead gathering data for the now undercover Project Camelot.

The following description of Project Camelot was released on December 4, 1964, through the Office of the Director of the Special Operations Research Office (SORO) of the American University in Washington, D.C. It was sent to scholars who were presumed interested in the study of internal war potentials and who might be willing to assemble at a four-week conference at the Airlie House in Virginia in August 1965. This release, dated December 4, 1964, is a summary version of a larger set of documents made available in August 1964 and in December 1964 [I.L.H.].

Camelot Goes Underground

When the true nature of Project Camelot was revealed, it was forced to curtail public operations. In reality, though, it went underground only to surface with a variety of new covers: as government agencies, individual academics, private corporations and, of course, individual agents. The work encompassed in the original project would still be carried out, but the form of operation would change. Camelot researchers were still at the stage of identifying their "would-be-attackers" and much work remained to be done. Thus while Ambassador Dungan apologized to the Chileans for Camelot, the CIA began to restructure its embassy network to accommodate the hidden Camelot.

A. Peace Corps: The Urban Front

The Peace Corps is a perfect structure for the CIA. It provides a point of contact with the working class which is so necessary for information gathering. And, because of the Peace Corps structure, the CIA does not have to control it in order to use it successfully. The Peace Corps entered Latin America as the "person-to-person" of the Alliance for Progress. Working out of the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, the first head of the Peace Corps in Chile was Nathaniel Davis, promoted to Ambassador by the time of the September 1973 coup. Under the skillful guidance of Davis, many of the youthful volunteers headed straight for the poblaciones which housed the poorest sectors of the Chilean working class and unemployed. Fresh out of Swarthmore, Bennington and Berkeley, the volunteers invaded the poblaciones, lived with the people and came to know them -- politically and socially. They worked with them, observed their customs, their way of life, their traditions. And then they drew up work reports describing their experiences.

It was not necessary to have many agents in the Peace Corps -- just in the right places and with access to all the information which was generated. Unknowingly, thousands of U.S. youths, most thinking that they were helping the Chileans, were instead gathering data for the now undercover Project Camelot.

Those agents in the Peace Corps who were conscious of their role had several tasks. As they mingled with the people, they were identifying future leftist leaders as well as those right-wingers who in the future would work for U.S. interests. They were assessing consciousness, evaluating reactions to reforms. And they were selecting and training future agents. It was at this point that Michael Townley, Peace Corpsman in the sixties, was recruited to enter the Agency. Townley returned to Chile in 1970 as one of the agency's closest contacts with Patria y Libertad.

Finally, the Peace Corps was used as a front to get paramilitary equipment into the country. Ellis Carrasco, who succeeded Davis as head of the Peace Corps, was himself accused of gun-running. Later, the U.S. Army donated and installed radio receivers in all Peace Corps regional offices to facilitate communications. These same receivers were used during the coup to facilitate coordination of the Junta's bloody activities.

I also served in the Caribbean and while no one has ever identified themselves as "CIA", we did have one "volunteer" in his late forties who appeared to be doing some sort of special assignment for the PC. This guy was in country about 2 months before he ET'd. About a month after he left, several PCVs were given a choice to either ET or be dismissed. Apparently he reported things such as having overnight guests for more than the alloted time, dating a rastafarian (which was against the rules at that time), being around people who smoked marijuana (on a caribbean island where everyone smokes), a PCV who was dating a man who, in a photograph taken 15 years prior, had a handgun in his hand (guns are illegal AND it was 15 years ago) and other random little things that under other circumstances would have gotten them a written warning at most. The Director let it be known that this man had produced a detailed, writen report of his findings to DC which outlined the activities of every single volunteer in our country - good and bad. To me, if they have spies reporting on the activities of PCVs, it is not unreasonable to think that they have "PCV's" reporting on the activities of HCNs.

I should first start off by saying that my father suffered torture under Pinochet's dictatorship and was then exiled to Canada, where I grew up from the age of 3. Any ways, one day when I was about 16, I told my dad that i had thought about joining the peace corps, and he told me about the CIA connection. I didn't know what to think. he also told me about the CIA and Mormon connection. I am ashamed to say that at first I doubted him a bit, but since doing some research I can concur with my dad, and I will never doubt him again. It's a scary world we live in.

Oh, an anecdote, When I was in Chile a few years back, I met a guy there on a PC mission, and I told him about the CIA connection, he thought I was crazy!!

1) If you grew up in Canada, than you would not be able to serve as a PCV, you must be a citizen of the US.

2) It is unwise to "never doubt [your father] again" you should doubt everything...at least a little.

3) Mormon connection? Seriously, where were you conducting your research?

I don't think you're Peace Corps material so its probably best that you can't be a volunteer.

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